Prep football: Novato’s Casanovas commits to Western Oregon

Novato’s Gabe Casanovas joined a small, underrated high school football program that rose to become a major power. He hopes to do something similar in college.

Casanovas, a three-star quarterback who helped lead Petaluma’s St. Vincent de Paul to back-to-back state championships, recently announced his commitment to D-II Western Oregon University.

The Wolves lost to Central Washington in the regular-season finale with an automatic NCAA playoff bid from the Lone Star Conference at stake. No. 24 Western Oregon (8-3, 7-2 LSC) finished tied for the runner-up

“A big part of my choice was the coaches,” Casanovas said. “They believe in me and they have a plan for me. I want to join a program on the rise.”

Wolves head coach Arne Ferguson was named LSC Coach of the Year after Western Oregon posted its best record since going 9-2 in 2007.

Casanovas and the Mustangs, under head coach Trent Herzog, put together a breakthrough 2023 season, capped by a surprising 27-6 victory over Wasco in the CIF State Division 6-AA championship. Casanovas threw for 2,660 yards and 36 touchdowns during a 13-2 campaign, his first as the starting quarterback.

The Mustangs followed that up with a 25-23 victory over Palmdale’s Highland High in the 2024 Division 4-AA championship. Casanovas passed for 2,780 yards and had 38 touchdowns as the Mustangs went 14-1.

“It’s everything, winning the state title,” Casanovas said. “There’s nothing better a player at this level can experience. It’s the pinnacle. Everything we did, what we accomplished, is worth it. The average football player doesn’t get to experience all that.”

In his freshman season as a backup quarterback, Casanovas and the Mustangs were undefeated before they fell to Clear Lake, 56-55, in the North Coast Section D-7 title game.

“We didn’t have any expectations coming in, but our goal after we made playoffs was to win section, that was our big goal as freshmen,” Casanovas said. “The next year, it didn’t cross our minds until we won section and we were playing the NorCal championship that we might have a shot at the state title. We were just so focused on the game at the time. We were so shocked after we won the NorCal title to have a chance to compete for the state title.”

The Mustangs’ 6-foot-2, 195-pound passer was injured during a Nov. 8 game against Maria Carrillo this season and missed one game, but No. 18-ranked St. Vincent (11-2) still advanced to the NCS D-5 championship, losing 26-14 to Ferndale.

“There was a lot of good that happened this season,” said Casanovas, whose Mustangs earned a big win over a powerful American Canyon team. “The season didn’t end how I end wanted it to, but it was a good season, a tough season. We never played a full game healthy, we were always missing two or three starters. That’s just how it was all year, trying to figure out the roster for that game.”

While Casanovas prepares for the next phase of his life, he is still rehabilitating his lower leg injury and hopes to be healthy enough soon to join the basketball team.

“The coaches at St. Vincent were great. We had a great offensive staff,” Casanovas said. “Coach (Jason) Rivas, Cameron Eisenhauer, Garrett Buffo, the rest really helped me out this year.”